The Experiment
by Hiyono Kimino
Summary: This story is set at the time when Sasuke Uchiha has left to join Orochimaru. Kousuke, being one of Orochimaru's former experiments, has escaped and made his way to Konoha to inform the Hokage of Orochimaru's plans for Sasuke.
1. Prolouge

_**Authors note: The Kousuke in this story is not the same Kousuke that is in 'The Strange Shinobi'**_

**Prolouge**

"Orochimaru-sama!"

"What is it, Kabuto, I'm busy…"

"Kousuke's escaped! He's must have been gone since last night!"

"What?!"

"Shall I go look for him?"

"Of course!! We can't afford to have him gone! He's the most powerful and skilled shinobi we've got!!"

"I'll make sure he returns, Orochimaru-sama."

"And Kabuto, don't hold back if there's any resistance."

"Of course."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

On the outskirts of Konoha Village, Uzumaki Naruto was training. Then, from deep in the woods, came the sound of fighting shinobi. Naruto rushed to find out what was happening. On his way there, a ninja, seemingly his age, flew past Naruto and right into tree.

"What the—"

"Kousuke-kun, why don't you just come back the easy way?"

Naruto turned to see the sound ninja Yakushi Kabuto, then looked back at the other shinobi. Hoping that he wasn't noticed, Naruto slipped behind a nearby tree.

"Onii-san…why are you still working for _that guy_?

"Why? You of all people should know why. I mean, you _are_ my brother."

Kousuke was injured. He had scrapes and bruises all over. Naruto had to think fast. He had to react quickly given the current circumstances. Before Kabuto's kunai could reach Kousuke, Naruto jumped in, deflected the kunai, and took Kousuke with him to the village.

At the gate

"Naruto wha—"

"No time! Gotta get to the hospital!"

Naruto ran as fast as he could towards Konoha Hospital, with the injured Kousuke on his back. Once he got inside, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, yelled at him.

"Naruto! Why are you running? This isn't a playground, it's a hospital! On another note, who's the boy?"

"Tsunade obaa-chan, we gotta get this guy some medical attention! Seriously!"

The Hokage was in doubt that he was in need of _too much_ medical attention, but she got him put in a room anyway.

"Now, then, Naruto, we need to talk. Who is that boy?"

"Well, I was out in the forest training, and I heard noises from not too far away. I wondered what they were, so I went to check. The noise turned out to be this kid -- Kousuke, I think – fighting Kabuto."

"Yakushi Kabuto?"

"Uh, the one that works for Orochimaru. Anyway, he was seriously giving Kousuke a beating, so I jumped in to save him!" said Naruto triumphantly.

Tsunade's expression changed in an instant.

"What were you thinking?! Kabuto could've attacked you, no, killed you! And why would you bring a foreign ninja to Konohagakure?!

"Well, I, um…"

At that moment, Hatake Kakashi came in.

"What's going on here?"

He looked very confused. Tsunade went over to the jounin and told him Naruto's story. He nodded.

"I see…"

_**Click!**_

The three turned toward Kousuke's door. It started to open slowly…


	3. Chapter 2

Kousuke slowly emerged from his hospital room, with a slight limp. He spotted the the trio and froze. Where was he? How did he get here? Kousuke couldn't recall what had happened to him. He only knows that he awoke in a hospital bed, in a lot of pain.

"You're up!" Naruto shouted excitedly, rushing towards the injured Kousuke.

Realizing that something wasn't right, Kakashi quickly cut Naruto off.

"Sensei…"

The look on the jounin's face explained it without words. Something was strange about this kid. Kousuke backed up, and put his coat back on. Examining the room, he noticed that most f his things were gone.

"My sword…" he limped out towards the still halted Naruto, Kakashi, and Tsunade. "Where's my sword? And my other things? Where'd they go?" He gave them a suspicious look.

Naruto made a confused face.

"Stuff? Oh, yeah, I remember now. You had this huge sword with you, and this little bag…They must still be in the forest, unless your brother took them.

Stunned, Kousuke tried to run out the door. Before he could get too far, pain shot through his leg. He fell to the ground, holding the injured limb. Tsunade rushed to the boy.

"You need to rest some more, and I'll have to tend to your injuries…Kakashi, you go with Naruto to get this boy's things. Bring them back here if you can find them."

As the ninja headed out, she helped Kousuke back into his room, ignoring the surrounding spectators, who witnessed that entire scene. Giving him a half-concerned, half-suspicious look, Tsunade sat Kousuke on his bed, tended t his injuries, and began to ask him questions.

"I have some questions for you. First of all, I want to know who you are, and what you're doing here."

Wincing at the pain in his leg, he answered the Hokage's question.

"Well, I'm Yakushi Kousuke, from Sound. I came here to deliver some vital information to the Hokage, but…I don't remember what happened during my journey here."

Tsunade knew he was telling the truth because she looked into his eyes, and they weren't the eyes of a liar, although they were a strange color. She relaxed a little bit.

"Well, you've achieved this much – to get to the Hokage – but you still need to deliver the message, and I'm sure you need some info on what happened. "

At that moment, Naruto and Kakashi returned with Kousuke's things.

"Man, I thought it was gonna take forever, but fortunately, th—"

"Speak of the devil! Naruto, you're just the person I wanted to see. How's your leg, Kousuke-kun?"

While Naruto had a confused look on his face, Kousuke stood up and hopped on his leg a little.

"I'm great, thanks! You work miracles, Hokage-sama!"

"Wait, what do you need me for, huh?"

"Well, I was hoping you could tell Kousuke the situation you found him in, since he can't remember anything."

"Yeah! You see, it happened like this…I saw Kousuke just as he was being attacked by Kabuto, and me, being as cool as I am, deflected the kunai About to hit him and helped Kousuke all the way back here."


End file.
